The airport, which is owned and operated by the City of Huron, covers an impressive 1,235 acres and has two concrete runways: Runway 12/30, at 7,201 by 100 feet, is the third longest runway in the state after Rapid City and Sioux Falls; Runway 17/35 is 5,000 by 75 feet. Over the years, the airport has been serviced by multiple carriers; among them were Mid-Continent Airlines, Inland Air Lines, Western Airlines, North Central Airlines, Northern Airlines, Mesaba Aviation, GP Express Airlines, Air Midwest, and Republic Airlines. Today, there is no commercial air service flying in and out of Huron. However, it is still a busy hub for general aviation aircraft, corporate jets, air ambulance services, physician specialists, aerial applicators, pipeline inspectors, and various government agencies. HURON’S AIRPORT MANAGER HAS A LIFELONG CONNECTION Larry Cooper has been Huron’s Airport Manager for the last 33 years. But his relationship with the airport goes back quite a bit longer.“It started in 1957when my dad went to work at the airfield that was there at the time,” he recounts. “I was a little kid and I came out here and got to hang around airplanes and do little chores for the owner of the FBO (Fixed Base Operator). Later on, in high school, I was a line boy out here (a line boy is an airplane technician who works on an airport ramp). Then I went to college and the Air Force’s ROTC program,” Cooper describes. He continues, “Then I was a pilot for the Air Force. When I left the Air Force, I came back here to manage the local FBO. That led to getting on the Airport Board and ultimately becoming the Airport Manager. So, if you put my Airport Board time on, I’ve been at this airport in a semi-management capacity, one way or the other, for 38 years.” ON AN UPWARD PATH Over those years, Cooper has witnessed the airport’s many ups and downs. But today, he says that Huron Regional is on a growth trajectory.“By the time COVID 203 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 11, ISSUE 07 HURON REGIONAL AIRPORT
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